Go, Grow, Glow
Adapted from Life Lab’s The Growing Classroom.
THEME: MAKING HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How can eating certain foods help our bodies grow
strong and healthy so that we can be who we want
to be and do what we want to do in the world?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to explain how eating
certain foods helps them be healthy.
Students will be able to identify foods that fall
under each go, grow, and glow category.
LESSON DESCRIPTION
In this lesson, students play go, grow, and glow
charades, learning about the different foods
that help their bodies have energy (go), grow
strong (grow), and stay healthy (glow). They then
draw themselves in action and at their best, with
connections to the foods that enable them to
enjoy those activities. This lesson is designed to
be taught in conjunction with winter lesson Go,
Grow, Glow Quesadillas and spring lesson Plant a
Go, Grow, Glow Bed.
MATERIALS
Index card for each student
Go, Grow, Glow Poster (p. 243)
Go! Grow! Glow! Worksheet (p. 244) for each
student
Projector and document camera or chart
paper and markers
Colored pencils and crayons
Copyright © 2018 FoodCorps
1ST
GRADE
50
MIN. FALL
PREPARATION
> If you don’t have a document camera to proj-
ect the worksheet, create a version of it on
chart paper to fill in with your own model.
> Photocopy the Go! Grow! Glow! Worksheet.
ACTION STEPS
1. Engage: Gather students in a circle, and ask
them to think about their favorite activity, like
running, reading, etc. Pass out index cards, and
have each student write the activity on their
index card. Circulate through the room, and
help students write if needed. (5 min.)
2. Playing Charades: Then say, We’re going to
play a game where you act out your favorite
activity and then we have to guess what you’re
doing. Take volunteers to stand up in the mid-
dle of the circle and act out their activity. Then
have students show their card to see if the
class was able to guess it. Play a new round by
collecting everyone’s cards, shuffling them, and
taking volunteers to act out a random activity
from the pile. You might have to support stu-
dents in reading each other’s writing. (10 min.)
3. Explain: Explain, Did you know there are
certain foods we eat that give us energy to do
our favorite things? These are the “go” foods.
Have students wiggle their bodies to show using
energy, then say, There are also foods that help
241
 us grow and get strong. These are “grow” foods.
Have students show their bicep muscles. Then
say, There are also foods that help our skin, teeth,
and hair look nice; help our brain think; and help
our body feel good. These are foods that help us
“glow”! Have students give a full-toothed smile,
and frame their faces with their hands. (5 min.)
4. Guessing Game: Show students the Go,
Grow, Glow Poster, and go over some foods in
each category saying, Grains like bread and rice
help us go! Protein-rich foods like beans, nuts,
dairy, and meat help us grow! Fruits and veg-
etables help us glow! For each category have
students pantomime the gesture you taught
them to reinforce the concept. Then play a
game where you call out a food, and students
must guess which category it goes in by per-
forming the corresponding gesture. For exam-
ple, say, Chicken! and then have students make
a muscle. Or Cucumber! and have students
make a big, glowing smile. (10 min.)
5. Model: Model for students how they’ll be
filling in the Go! Grow! Glow! worksheet, using
either the document camera or chart paper.
Explain aloud while drawing a picture of yourself
in the center of the wheel doing your favorite
activity. Then draw some of the corresponding
go, grow, and glow foods from each section of
the Go Grow Glow Poster on the outer part of
the wheel, emphasizing that go, grow and glow
foods help give us the energy, strength and
health to do our favorite things. (5 min.)
6. Making a Go, Grow, Glow Wheel: Pass out
worksheets to students and then circulate
through the room, guiding students to refer
to the poster to remember which foods match
which category (go, grow, or glow). (10 min.)
242
REFLECTION
Have students discuss the following ques-
tions in small groups, then share with the
class: (5 min.)
• What are some go foods you like eating?
• What are some grow foods you like eating?
• What are some glow foods you like eating?
ADAPTATIONS
Tasting Extension: Have students make a go,
grow, and glow snack, such as crackers with
hummus and vegetables from the first grade
lesson The Great Balancing Act or a yogurt par-
fait with granola from the kindergarten lesson
Perfect Parfait.
ACADEMIC CONNECTIONS
English Language Arts Common Core State
Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.1.1
Participate in collaborative conversations with
diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts
with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.1.1.J
Produce and expand complete simple and com-
pound declarative, interrogative, imperative, and
exclamatory sentences in response to prompts.
Copyright © 2018 FoodCorps
Copyright © 2018 FoodCorps 243
 Name: Date:

Go! Grow! Glow! Worksheet

Directions: Draw a picture of your favorite activity in the middle circle.
Draw the go, grow, and glow foods you like to eat on the outside of the circle.

G ro
w
Go

l o w
G

244 Copyright © 2018 FoodCorps